Attainment of self-control is a skill that develops with age. Toddlers often behave without regard for consequences, while adults are generally more conscious of the impact of their actions. Even so, there are times when the best of us lose control. Fortunately, there are some things you can do to regain self-control.

Meditate regularly to clear your mind of confusion. A calm mind is more capable of maintaining self-control under stressful circumstances than a disorganized mind.

Write down specific goals for yourself, such as refraining from cursing while driving. List the steps you'll take to meet those goals, such as listening to calm music, leaving for destinations early or substituting acceptable language when frustrated.

Review your goals weekly to determine your progress. Once you've met goals in one area, set new goals at a higher level.Keep a journal of your daily activities. Notice events that precede a decline in self-control. Try to avoid these circumstances if possible. Increase participation in activities that make you happy.

Practice positive self-talk techniques. Instead of thinking,"I'm already late, so there's no point in trying anymore." think, "This is late, but I'm getting it done and following through with a commitment."

Slow your response time by taking several deep, cleansing breaths before reacting. Develop a thoughtful look for these moments, during which you take a mental vacation.

Find an acceptable outlet for stress. Sports and other high energy activities may help. Also, consider stress-reducing activities, such as yoga.Try to counter every negative thought with three positive thoughts.

Comfort and contradictions: Coffee is both at once familiar and exotic. Of all ancient beverages coffee is the most mercurial. Depending on the alchemy of circumstance, the drinker's mood, and of course the manner of preparation, coffee can be as bright as sunrise or as velverty as evening, or as romantic as wine.

Instruction

Thing You'll Need:

Good coffe maker

Pure water, bottle or filter

Good fresh whole coffee beans

Firstly the best cup of coffee, of course, depends not on expensive beans or fancy gadgets, but on circumstance: if it is drunk in the company of friends, or on a morning when your worn soul craves it, or in a romantic inn or restaurant, or when it perfectly suits your mood. Such bliss cannot be bought per pound. But circumstance aside there are steps you can take if you have your mind ,heart, and mouth set on getting that perfect cup of coffee. If you like, you can be extraordinarily fussy: or you can rely on just a handful of essentials, perfectly carried out.

FILLTERING VERSUS BOILING: Two basic ways to prepare coffee are filtering - the most popular method - and boiling. Most people who brew their own coffee use paper filters in an automatic drip coffee pot. The idea here is to pour hot water over ground coffee held in a filter, so the grounds stay behind and the drink drips through. Boiling is how the old-fashioned percolator, often scorned these days, makes coffee; and boiling is, of course, how espresso is made, whether i a fancy machine or in one of those hour-glass-shaped pots that sit on a stove burner. The Turks and Arabs make coffee by boiling it, and so did cowboys in the West. in any event coffee made this way tastes stronger, is more bitter and less aromatic, and the body is thicker. Properly done it is luxury.

WATER: The water you use should itself taste good; for this reason, avoid water laced with chlorine or iron or any other sort of off taste. The water should also be cold when you draw it, according to experts. If you are filtering your coffee rather than boiling it, heat the water to just a few degrees below boiling (200 degrees). Any cooler and it can't extract all of the essence from the grounds; any hotter and you will lose some of the aroma and fine taste that filtering preserves. STRENGTH: The ratio of grounds to water varies with individual preference and the fineness of the grind. In general with a fine grind, allow from one to two rounded tablespoons of coffee per cup, a cup equaling about 7 fluid ounces of water. Your taste should be the judge; if you like it stronger; use more coffee and less water. Be careful, though, when making it weak: don't use less water in preparation but instead dilute the coffee after it is made, to avoid bitterness from over extraction.

FRESHNESS: Green coffee beans can be stored for a long time, but once beans are roasted they lose their freshness quickly. For this reason, try to make sure you buy beans that have been roasted within the last week. Beans that been sitting in jars forever may look pretty but will have lost their flavor. As for storing roasted beans at home, whether ground or whole, authorities generally agree that an airtight container is best,but after that they diverge. Some prefer storing in the freezer; others recommend the refrigerator. Both camps will make their arguments. If you use up the beans quickly enough, you won't have to worry about who's right.

Here is an important foundational truth you need to know:In Order To Grow, A Business Has To Be Scalable.

Being scalable means a businessthat currently serves 100 happycustomers can expand into acompany that serves 1000 or even10,000 happy customers withminimum growing pains.

A business is truly scalable whenit has been built in a way thataccommodates steady growth andnecessary expansion can takeplace smoothly.

One person who knows and does everything for their own business is naturallylimited by the number of hours in a day. They can employ top notch timemanagement strategies to get more done in less time – but there will always be alimit that he or she won't be able to move past.

On the other hand, a business that is developed around systems rather thanpeople, can grow as far as that system is capable. A well designed system canscale itself larger and larger with good management while other systems lackflexibility and limit growth to the tasks and projects that it was specifically craftedto manage.

If the way you do things can only work when you do them, you're going to hit aninvisible ceiling over and over.

Knowing this makes you wonder how far you are from your very own 'glassceiling' doesn't it?

Big businesses know about the key importance of being scalable – but smallbusinesses and solo entrepreneurs have less experience with it.

SOHO owners (Small Office/Home Office) have generally focused on creating abusiness that puts them in as much control as possible every step of the way.This is understandable and even admirable in start up phases. Budget restraintsoften mean that the owner/operators take on the accountant, marketing, salesand administrative support roles as well – at least for a season.It's how most high power entrepreneurs got their start.

APPLE PIEFolk saying: 'Apple pie without cheese is like a kiss without a squeeze.'In countless surveys, Apple Pie has been chosen the favorite dessert in the United States. Apple pie has also been a favorite in England for hundreds of years.In rural homes in the 19th century, apple and other fruit pie was often a common item served for breakfast, considered a good hearty beginning for a hard day's work.The state of Vermont adopted apple pie as the official state pie in 1999There are about 2500 known varieties grown in the US. 56% of the 1999 crop was eaten as fresh fruit and 42% was processed.

MILK BOTTLESMilk was first sold in glass bottles in 1879. Echo Farms Dairy began to deliver milk in bottles to homes in Brooklyn, New York in 1879.Plastic milk bottles were introduced in 1967.

CHEFSMeasure the girth of the chef and you can rate his restaurant. Old French axiom.Charles Ranhofer (1836-1899) was the first internationally renowned chef of an American restaurant, Delmonico's in New York City. He published a cookbook, The Epicurean in 1893, which contained more than 3,500 recipes.Famed inovative television comic, Ernie Kovacs (1919-1962) first TV appearance was on Philadelphia's WPTZ (NBC) in 1951 as the chef in a live, unrehearsed cooking show called ‘Deadline for Dinnner’.In 1956 four U.S. chefs won the Culinary Olympics in Frankfurt, Germany. Paul Laesecke, Otto Spielbachler, Paul Leuppe and Paul Debes. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there were 317,000 Chefs and Head Cooks and 183,000 Bakers working in the United States in 2006.According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there are 313,000 Chefs and Head Cooks in the U.S. in 2007.

CHEWING GUMAll chewing gum was originally made from the natural gum resin called chicle, which is obtained from the sapodilla tree. Chicle is more expensive than other natural gums and newer synthetic materials, so it's use has greatly declined.

Top 5 Per capita consumption of chewing gum (2004):

Denmark - 2 lb 10 oz

Norway - 2 lb 3 ozSwitzerland - 1 lb 9 oz

U.S. - 1 lb 9 oz

Israel - 1 lb 5 oz (tied with Spain)

The country with the largest number of chewing gum manufacturers is Turkey, with more then 60 companies manufacturing chewing gum!

Chewing gum as we know it today may be an American invention, but humans have been chewing various gums, resins and latex secretions of plants for thousands of years. Mastic gum has been chewed by Mediterranean peoples for thousands of years, and Native Americans chewed the resin from spruce trees. The first commercial chewing gum, State of Maine Spruce Gum was introduced in 1850. It was made using spruce tree resin, which had a harsh taste and tough texture. (I believe it is still available in northern New England). In 1871 Thomas Adams patented chicle gum, with sugar and sassafras flavoring. It had the right chewing properties with no harsh taste or texture, and it caught on quickly with the American public. This was soon followed (by other companies) with peppermint flavored gum in 1885, Chiclets (gum with a hard sugar coating in 1900, Juicy Fruit and Spearmint flavors in 1893, and finally bubble gum in 1928.

The popularity of chewing gum was both helped by, and helped spawn the development of the vending machine. The first vending machines were used to sell chewing gum in the New York Subways.W.F. Semple of Mount Vernon, Ohio, patented chewing gum in 1869.

Step 2:Coat chicken very lightly with additional flour. Generously spray large nonstick skillet with cooking spray, heat over medium heat until hot. Cook chicken 10 to 15 min or until browned on all sides.

Step 3:Remove vegetables to bowl with slotted spoon. Layer chicken in slow cooker, return vegetables to slow cooker. Add sherry, salt, and pepper. Reduce heat to Low, cover and cook 6 to 6 ½ hours or until chicken is no longer pink in center and vegetables are tender.

Step 4:Stir in artichokes, cover and cook 45 min to 1 hour or until heated through.

Springrolls are integral to Vietnamese, Thai and other Asian cuisines. A nice start to a meal, they can be a cinch to make. Just like with anything you make at home, it's always more comforting to know exactly what you're eating, relatively preservative-free.

Instruction

Things you'll Need:

Egg roll wrappers

Mushrooms

Sprouts

Carrots

Crab (optional)

Egg

Frying pan

Vegetable oil

Step 1:Slice the ingredients into thin sticks. You’ll be rolling these into the wrappers, so you want the ingredients to fit well. If you use crab, it won’t julienne this way, but shred it into small pieces.

Step 2:Place a little of each of the ingredients into a wrapper. Roll like a burrito, folding over once and then folding in the sides. Roll them up to seal.

Step 3:Use a little egg wash to seal the last corner to the roll.

Step 4:Heat oil in a frying pan (or wok), enough to immerse the rolls. Insert the rolls in the oil carefully.

Step 5:None of the ingredients need to be cooked, so fry until golden brown.

Taco salad is a great meal that can be thrown together in a short amount of time. It's a delicious weeknight meal when everyone is hungry, but there's little time to prepare a big dinner. The ingredients are also fairly inexpensive, so even doubled, this dish is a great way to make a low-cost meal for a crowd of guests. Instruction

Things you'll need:

1 lb. of ground beef

1 9 oz. bag of white tortilla chips

1 8 oz. bag of shredded Mexican-style cheese

1 packet of taco seasoning mix

lettuce

sour cream

chopped fresh tomatoes

sliced black olives

Step 1:Brown the ground beef in a skillet and drain the excess fat. Add the taco seasoning mix and 1/4 cup of water. Simmer for 5 to 6 minutes or until most of the liquid is absorbed.

Step 2:Put all of the ingredients in separate serving bowls. Put serving utensils in the bowls and arrange the taco salad ingredients on the counter or serving area.

Step 3:Put a stack of plates at one end of the bowls. Allow family or guests to form a line, get plates and arrange their taco salads in layers, starting with the chips and lettuce, then meat, cheese, tomatoes, sour cream and black olives.

Chocolate Bread is a variation of a simple sugar-based loaf, and it's a perfect treat for any chocoholic in the family. It can be made in a bread machine and served at brunch or just as a snack. Enjoy it on its own, or with a spoonful of Nutella or chocolate spread for even more chocolate indulgence. Here's how to make fresh chocolate bread in a few easy steps!

Instruction

Things You'll Need:

2½ tsp. dry yeast

3 cups bread flour

½ cup white sugar

¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 egg

¼ cup fresh butter

½ teaspoon vanilla

1 cup 2% milk, at room temperature

Step 1:Prepare the bread machine. Set the bread machine to the basic "white loaf" setting.

Step 2:Every time you crave a cigarette, chew some gum. What's really going on is the nicotine-hungry brain nerves in your head are going nuts, aching for a cigarette. All you need to do is sit it out, watch tv or whatever it is that will get your mind off it.

Step 3:Tell nobody to come over. If your friends are smokers, don't let them in your house. Chances are they smoked in the car on the way there, and you could probably smell it allover them and then you end up hating them for a good minute.

Step 4:Once your three days are up, pat yourself on the back because it only takes 72 hours for your body to be no longer addicted to nicotine. Now all you have is a mental addiction, it's a lifestyle, it's a way of life you have probably lived for a while. Just try to stay active and constantly keep your mind going. It will be good for you.

With the rising cost of cigarettes, smoking has become an expensive habit for even the casual smoker. Follow these steps to find inexpensive cigarettes in a variety of places.

Follow this Instruction:

Step 1:Buy in bulk. As with most other common goods, buying in bulk will reduce the price of cigarettes significantly. Warehouse-style stores like Costco are a great place to buy cigarettes cheaply because of bulk discounts.

Step 2:Travel. City vendors sell cigarettes at a premium, so if you live in a city or urban area, pick up a carton or pack of cheaper cigarettes the next time you go out of town. Many find that traveling as few as 20 miles away can help them save 15 percent on their favorite pack of smokes.

Step 3:you don't mind waiting for the shipping, buy online. The Internet has become the place to buy and sell cheap cigarettes. Sites like BuyCheapCigarettes.com are loaded with great deals.

Step 4:Take advantage of duty free. The next time you take an international flight, pick up a carton of cigarettes from the duty free shop or onboard vendor. High taxes drive up the price of cigarettes, so duty free cigarettes come relatively cheap.

Turning 21 is a very important time in anyone’s life. Since this is the legal drinking age, a lot of emphasis is put on alcohol when you turn 21. However, there are many people who are unable to enjoy drinking. Whether you are unable to drink due to your own personal choice or you have a medical condition that may prevent you from drinking, one or more of these tips may help you figure how to enjoy turning 21 without alcohol.

Follow this Instruction:

Step 1:Make a list of all of the things that you would like to do in the next year. Whether you want to begin writing a novel or go skydiving, write it all down. On your 21st birthday and after, you can make it one of your goals to accomplish all of the things you want to do.

Step 2:Throw a birthday party the same way that you would any other year. Invite some of your friends and family members. Get pizza, a birthday cake and whatever else you would normally want to have at a party. If they are 21 years old or older, you may want to provide them with alcohol. Of course, it’s also possible that your friends won’t care if alcohol is provided and may be happy with soda.

Step 3:Search the Internet for recipes of mixed drinks that you’ve always wanted to try. Then, make yourself virgin drinks at home. Whether you make a Fuzzy Navel without the vodka or a Tequila Sunrise without the Tequila, this is a great way to enjoy turning 21 without alcohol.

Step 4:Choose something that you would rather do than drink. Perhaps you may want to consider going out to dinner, a movie or bowling. If your birthday is in the summer, then you may want to think about going to the beach or a water park.

Birthdays are a time to celebrate with friends and family, often through sharing gifts and food. Many restaurants and sweet shops offer the gift of free food for guests who are celebrating a birthday. When you plan your next birthday bash, follow these simple steps to eat for free on your special day. Follow This Instruction:

Step 1:Use the Internet to plan your birthday outing. Visit the Web sites of your favorite restaurants to discover who offers free food for birthdays. Many chain restaurants only offer birthday freebies to guests who register online, so make sure you complete all necessary steps before your birthday outing.

Step 2:Call local restaurants that do not have a Web site or whose Web sites don't have information about birthday deals. Your favorite local eatery may offer unadvertised free food for patrons celebrating a birthday.

Step 3:Plan to visit more than one location. Although many restaurants will give you free food on your birthday, it will often be in the form of dessert. Find a restaurant that will provide a complementary meal, then visit another restaurant or sweet shop for dessert.

Step 4:Call ahead of your birthday meal to inform the staff that a member of your party will be celebrating a birthday. Confirm with the host your understanding of the restaurant's free birthday offerings. Make sure to remind the hostess about the birthday celebration upon arrival.Step 5:Sit back, relax and enjoy your free birthday treats. Nothing beats laughing and eating with loved ones while listening to the harmonious singing wait staff!

Relevent TipsMany restaurants only provide free birthday food for children. If you're planning an outing for an adult, make sure that free food offers apply.